Ever wondered if you might one day visit the Moon? Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to venture into space in April 1961. Just eight years later, Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon's surface. It took about four days for his Apollo 11 spaceship to make the 360,000 km trip.

Both these men – along with all other space travellers - were bowled over by the breathtaking view they got of the Earth. One of the most striking images ever captured on film was this photograph, taken during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968 as the crew watched the Earth rise over the Moon's surface – in the same way that we might watch a sunrise. Back on Earth, people caught an unprecedented glimpse of the planet we call home from an outsider’s perspective: a small blue marble lost in space. They were truly seeing the world differently.

Today’s space scientists have set their sights on Mars, with space agencies ESA and NASA both hoping to send a manned mission to the red planet in the next 30 years. The latest technology has also allowed us to scour the far reaches of our galaxy for planets that could harbour life. Finding out one day that we are not alone in the universe may once again revolutionise the way we think.